


flower power

by anthropologicalhands



Category: Naruto
Genre: Female Friendship, Gen, Post-Chapter 699, Road Trips
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-12
Updated: 2015-09-12
Packaged: 2018-04-20 09:07:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4781723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anthropologicalhands/pseuds/anthropologicalhands
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>two friends and a whole wide world</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The start of a new adventure for two best friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> author’s notes: for stannide, to whom I owe a drabble series. Don’t expect too much seriousness; it will mostly be Sakura and Ino having fun with drop-ins by other characters.

Shortly after Sakura makes Jounin, she approaches the Hokage for a mission that would take her out of the village for an extended period of time. Ino does not know the exact details of their meeting, but eventually Kakashi proposes an experiment: Sakura will set up outposts throughout the four corners of Fire Country, in which either single ninja or small teams could operate without trouble. He grants her the authority of Konoha to take on assignments as she sees fit from any personage or village who might so ask for it, since in the aftermath of the war and reconstruction many requests for help have slipped through the cracks.

Sakura agrees, but with one particular request: instead of taking on such a substantial mission alone, she asks for the company of a certain blonde, loudmouth companion with a flair for intelligence-gathering—Ino.

Though their travels are officially sanctioned by the Hokage and they have goals to be met and reports to keep updated, there is still something delightfully giddy and special about it—an adventure meant for two friends. The dawn of their departure, Ino is already awake and beyond Konoha’s gates. Their meeting place is to be among the trees they played under as children; Sakura left even earlier to gather some extra plants for medicines they might need. Her bag contains only the essentials, but in her hands she carries a small vase. Small and sturdy, it is the pale blue of robin eggs with a raised pattern of cherry blossoms. When they were small it had been Sakura’s favorite in the Yamanaka household for that very reason.

Ino slips easily through the forest, not even rustling the leaves of the trees upon which she lands. She runs until she has reached the halfway point between the edge of the village and the end of the forest, and waits.

The first pale fingers of light are just beginning to penetrate the foliage of the forest when Ino finally sees her friend; her pink hair and red hitai-ate glinting under the sun.

Rather than simply calling out, Ino chooses to make her presence known by chucking the vase at Sakura’s head.

She doesn’t expect to make her target and is unsurprised when Sakura twists around and grabs the projectile right out of the air. Ino watches, biting her lip to contain her amusement, as Sakura studies the vase and then glares right up into her hiding spot.

“ _Pig!_  Get your ass down here  _now!_ ”

Grinning widely, Ino assents, jumping off the tall branches to land nimbly in front of Sakura.

“What’s the matter, Forehead? Don’t like my gift?”

Sakura’s eye twitches, though Ino doubts she is really angry. She watches as Sakura studies the vase, holding it out directly in front of her face.

“Doesn’t this belong to your mom?”

“Yeah. She doesn’t want it anymore.” Ino shrugs; a jerk of the shoulders too quick to feel casual despite herself. “You know. She’s been cleaning and throwing more things out recently. But you always liked this one. So, I thought I’d offer it.”

“I did like it, and I still do, but…” She shakes her head, still bewildered. “You couldn’t just give this to me  _before_  we left? You know, before I left the one place where I actually have room for it?”

“No, because it’s not meant for your room,” Ino explains, with great patience. “From what you were telling me of the sparseness of our future accommodations, I thought it wouldn’t hurt to have something nice to remind us of home. Or, you know, at the very least just have something we can use to keep samples. Don’t you think?”

“Of course.” Sakura’s eyes soften and she tucks the vase close to her side. “Thank you. How is she doing? I didn’t get a chance to stay goodbye.”

Ino shrugs again. “Well enough. She argued with me about what I was taking for this mission, so things are finally getting back to normal.”

“That’s good!” says Sakura, her cheer real but too bright, as it often is when Ino speaks of her mother. But Ino is used to that. And not just from Sakura.

“Yes, it is. The house isn’t so quiet anymore.”

She doesn’t rock back on her heels or wring her hands, though the urge to do both is stronger than she cares to admit.

“She really won’t need you around?”

Ino shakes her head. “We’ve been together too much: I think she’ll be glad for some time apart. Yoshino-san comes over everyday, and the Akimichis bring over food just as often. She has her other friends. She’ll be taken care of. She’ll get out of the house.”

“And Shikamaru and Chouji? They’ll be good?”

“If they really need me, they know how to find me,” says Ino. “Chouji promised to keep in touch, keep me up to date.”

“And Shikamaru?” prompts Sakura.

“He promised too!…with a little arm-twisting,” concedes Ino. “How about you and Naruto?”

“He promises to keep in touch. But Kakashi-sensei also promised to keep him busy, so who knows what will actually happen.”

“And Sasuke-kun?” asks Ino, with a catlike smirk.

“His hawk knows how to find me,” says Sakura, her tone perfectly neutral, but her face betraying her actual feelings with its pink glow.

Silence stretches between them. Ino waits, ready to set off, but Sakura seems to be considering something.

“Are you sure about this, Ino?” There’s a genuine note of worry in Sakura’s voice, like she’s afraid Ino is here against her will.

Touched as she is that Sakura is concerned for her feelings, Ino has to fight hard not to roll her eyes. Trust Sakura to worry even after she’s already agreed.

“I’m fine, Forehead. I  _want_  to go. I’m going to do something useful, but be far  _far_  away from Konoha, and with my best friend. This is just what I need.”

“That sounds dangerously sentimental for you, Pig.”

“You wish, Forehead.”

“Shut up.” The affection thickening Sakura’s voice is nearly enough to make Ino want to cry.

“Never.”

Together, they start to walk the path that will lead out of Konoha.

“On a less sentimental note, we should have a team name.”

“…What?”

“Well, if this is going to be  _our_  journey, we should have a cool name! Something that will tell the world that we are two fabulous kunoichi who are going to save the day!” Ino taps her chin, charged by this new train of thought. “Something like the Dynamic Duo.”

Sakura seems less than enthusiastic.

“I think Lee-san and Gai already called that one…”

“I  _know_ , it was an  _example_. We could be the Dynamic Dames, I guess…”

“No thank you. What’s wrong with just being the World’s Best and Strongest Mednin and her sidekick, the Mind-Altering Pig?”

“Very funny, Forehead. But too long. Ooh! Wait, I got it.  _Flower Power!_ ”

“…I take it back. You’re not coming.”


	2. a breather

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes you just need to act like you're a kid again.

 

Their first outpost is five days away, if one travels at a consistent pace, with few breaks.

…But the way Ino keeps dawdling it is going to take at least  _twice_  the time at the very least.

“Ino, come  _on_. Stop rolling in the meadow!”

Sakura tries to make herself look haughty and threatening, her legs planted wide apart and her hands on her hips.

But Ino is her best friend. It doesn’t work.

At her feet, Ino looks up at her, eyes bright, arms outstretched on either side of her and sinking into the warm grass. They have left the trees far behind them, and it is nothing but wildflowers as far as they can see. The day is warm and the breeze mild. Sakura can’t really blame Ino for getting diverted, but  _really_.

“Don’t be such a spoilsport,” says Ino. “We’re more than halfway there and we still have three days to go. You’re being a worrywart.”

Sakura scowls down at her. “I’m being  _responsible_. Kakashi-sensei gave us a very simple mission and I want to make sure that we at the very least have a strong start. Come on, up.”

She holds out a hand to Ino, waiting.

Ino lets loose a gusty sigh. “ _Fine_.”

She reaches out and grabs Sakura’s outstretched arm by the wrist.

Sakura expects Ino to try to pull her down, so she readies her stance and channels a little extra chakra through her arm.

She doesn’t expect Ino to reach around her legs with her other hand, grabbing her knees and yanking them out from under her. Caught off guard, Sakura finds herself on her back in the grass, shrieking as Ino mercilessly takes advantage of all of the weaknesses she has learned over the years.

“Stop it!” Sakura laughs, eyes streaming, curling up into a ball to protect her vulnerable spots as best she can. “I surrender, I surrender!”

“Only if you get it in writing!” crows Ino. But she relents, and Sakura rolls on her back, one hand coming up to shield her eyes from the sun. She looks up at the line of Ino’s throat; her gaze is somewhere beyond them.

“This is so pretty. I haven’t felt this free in  _ages_ ,” she says, looking down at Sakura again. “Would an hour really slow us down so much?”

Sakura can’t help her answering smile.

“Probably not,” she concedes.

Ino nods, and reaches over Sakura’s head to pluck a few of the pale pink blooms left uncrushed by their tussle. She pulls over her bag, and retrieves a box the size of a textbook. Inside, there is a slim book and a portable flower press.

Ino works while Sakura watches the clouds. When they finally continue on their way, they leave only the imprint of their bodies in the grass. 


End file.
